Quick note: I was going to update this tomorrow to stay on schedule but I decided to upload early. This was originally 2 short chapters but I stuck them together since they fit. Thanks to everyone who left reviews!

Waiting two days felt like two years, Juvia tried to stay busy, but she struggled to keep her mind off of Natsu's return. She spent most of the first day cleaning her place, but after everything was tidy and in it's place she couldn't think of anything else to do. She wandered around town for a bit before turning up on Gajeel's doorstep. "I didn't expect to see you today, rain woman," he said casually leaning in the door frame, "get your sorry butt in here."
Juvia sighed as she joined him inside, he arched an eyebrow, "what's got you down in the dumps?"

Juvia took a seat on the sofa, "I've just got a lot on my mind."

"Such as?" he pressed sitting beside her.

A blush tickled her cheeks as she replied quietly, "Natsu."

"Oh. OH!" he managed, "are you sure that's a good idea? It hits a little close to the last situation, doesn't it?"

Juvia deflated, "I know, I know. It's already been a problem."

Gajeel held up a finger, "Wait. What exactly do you mean it's been a problem? What don't I know?"

Juvia smiled meekly before laying out the details for her friend. He waited until she was finished and blew a deep breath out. "Okay, so you don't exactly know where things are with Natsu, and Gray already shut you down on the whole idea of tagging along. Is there anything else?"

"I'm supposed to meet up with him when he gets back tomorrow, and I am a little anxious."

Gajeel nodded, "and that's the reason you're here. Makes sense. Well, maybe not the part about having feelings for flamebrain, but the rest of it sounds about right."

"Gajeel," she protested. "I'm serious."

"Fine, I get it, you like him, but I still don't think it's a good idea. What if you're wrong again? Are you sure you're ready to deal with hurting another friend if you change your mind about things?"

Juvia frowned, she really hated to think she was mistaken again but she had to take her best friend's advice on this one. "I don't think it's like that, but what do you suggest I do, then?"

Gajeel scratched his head and shrugged, "this isn't my area of expertise," he admitted, "but I would definitely take things slow and try to figure out your feelings before getting too invested."

Juvia nodded, "that's fair."

Gajeel clapped a hand firmly on her shoulder, "but until then how about we distract you from the wait?"

Juvia woke up on Gajeel's couch with her head pounding and her mouth dry and waxy. She pulled the heavy covers over her head and tried to block out the sound of the birds chirping outside. Drinking had been a bad idea, and Juvia was reminded that her water body was not impervious to hangovers. She moaned to herself and blinked trying to get her head to stop hurting, but ultimately had no luck, she had entirely too much to drink last night.

She needed aspirin. Flinging the blanket from her body she sat up and saw spots from the brightness in the room. Juvia stood and tripped over her boots where she had haphazardly left them beside the sofa. Recovering her balance, she made it into the kitchen and began gathering the things required to brew coffee. She was usually a tea person, but that was not going to cut it this morning. She shuffled things in the kitchen until she found two clean mugs and inhaled the scent of strong coffee as it brewed.

"Is that you, Rain Woman?" Gajeel groaned from down the hall.

"Yes." she shouted, wincing at the sound of her own voice echoing in her head.

"I feel like I died and was brought back to life last night, how are you faring?" he said shambling into the kitchen.

"That is an accurate description," she agreed, "why did we thinking drinking was a good idea?"

"Hell, I don't know, we used to do it all the time back in Phantom," he growled eyeing the slow coffee maker angrily, "I guess we are out of practice."

"Do you have aspirin?" Juvia asked, rifling through his cupboards.

"Bottom left shelf," he answered, "I have to leave it lower for Levy."

Juvia snatched the bottle and fumbled with the lid, grabbing pills for herself as well as Gajeel. "My head is killing me."

"You're not alone there," he agreed, "I feel like I aged 40 years overnight."

Juvia laughed, "but I guess you did distract me from my thoughts."

Gajeel checked the time, "and it's already noon, so the day is half over."

"Noon?!" she gasped, "how is it noon?"

Gajeel poured their coffee and handed a mug to his friend, "I don't know, but I can say we won't be doing that again anytime soon."

"Agreed." Juvia tossed the pills in her mouth and gulped the hot coffee, burning her tongue.

Gajeel snorted a laugh, "you look like shit woman."

"Thanks," she sneered at her friend, "so do you."

"You better go clean yourself up before loverboy gets back in town," Gajeel warned, "because if she sees you like this, he is likely to run the other direction."

"I'm not ready to walk home, it's bright out there," she said looking toward the window.

Gajeel cracked open a bottle of whiskey and added some to his coffee, "Hair of the dog that bit ya?"

"Might as well," she shrugged, "it can't hurt."

They spent the next hour sitting in near silence as they drank their coffee and waited for the hangover to subside, eventually Juvia stood and grabbed her bag, "thanks for the distraction, but I think it's finally time for me to get a move on. I need a shower and so do you."

"Anytime," Gajeel grinned, "but let's wait a good long time before we get that drunk again."

"Deal."

"Hey, Rain Woman," Gajeel called as she stepped out the door, "good luck."

Juvia nodded, "thank you."

By the time dusk fell across Magnolia Juvia was a nervous wreck, she waited beside the river to see if Natsu would show up. She smoothed the wrinkled in her picnic blanket for the fourth time before folding her hands in her lap, her palms were sweating, and she knew it had nothing to do with the heat. She felt as If her stomach were filled with dozens of butterflies desperate for freedom. She watched the path for any signs of people coming her way, but there hadn't been anyone on this end of the park in almost a half hour.

Tucking a stubborn curl behind her ear, Juvia huffed. She was driving herself crazy by watching for him, she lay back on the blanket and stared at the pinky-purple hue of the sky, the stars would be visible soon enough, she may as well enjoy the beautiful view while she was there. Her mind wandered to her drunken evening with Gajeel, she was grateful for his help in distracting her, but she wished it had involved a little less alcohol. A smile crept across her face as she recalled his endless talking about Levy, she couldn't help but wonder if he was even aware of how much he had talked about the script mage while drinking. Juvia had to admit there was an effortless ease to Gajeel and Levy's relationship, once it started it really took off and she had never seen her best friend happier. While he still had his gruff exterior there was an underlying softness that had been brought out recently. Perhaps that was the reason why he had made such an effort to comfort Juvia through her relationship troubles, he had definitely been a rock for her during her trying times.

"Hey Juves," came Natsu's voice from beside her, "hope I'm not too late." He joined her on the blanket wearing a broad grin.
"Not at all," she said sitting up, "I was just watching the stars come out."

"You looked so peaceful I almost didn't want to interrupt." he admitted, running a hand over his unruly hair.

"I'm glad you came," she smiled, "I was kind of worried that you wouldn't show." The truth in that statement caused the butterflies in her stomach to stir once more., but now that he was here she had to work up the courage to actually say what she had come to say. She decided to start with small talk and work from there. "How was the mission?"

"Easy," he laughed, "but long, I wanted to bust things up a lot quicker but apparently Erza and Lucy had a plan and we just had to stick to it."
Juvia had always appreciated Natsu's energy on jobs but she could see how sticking to a plan might be hard for him with his impulsiveness.

"What about you? How was your weekend?" he asked.

Juvia flushed and stifled a nervous laugh, "I may have had a little too much to drink with Gajeel yesterday and I sure felt it this morning."

'Oh man, how are you feeling now?" he asked, "I can't recall ever really seeing you drink, let alone drinking too much."

Juvia wound a curl around her fingertip as she spoke, "I had a lot on my mind and Gajeel was trying to keep me from dwelling on it. I guess it worked," she laughed, "I was fairly hung over this morning but I am feeling much better now."

"Well that's good," his expression shifted, "What had you so worried? Was it about what happened with my team at the guild?"

Juvia looked from his eyes to her hands, her fingers lacing and unlacing as she spoke, "Kind of. It was also a little bit of anxiety about tonight."

'Tonight?" he looked puzzled.

Juvia bit her lip and sighed, it was now or never, "I was nervous to talk to you." she kept her eyes on her hands, afraid to look up and meet his gaze, "Because I need to tell you that I'm developing feelings for you, and I know that complicates things with our friendship and your relationship with your team but I wanted to be honest and let you know." Her breath caught in her throat the instant she finished speaking, she swallowed hard and reminded herself to breathe. The silence was killing her, but she was too afraid to speak again.

"Juves, look at me," his voice was firm, sending a chill down her spine, she slowly raised her eyes to his, his expression was blank but his eyes were intense. "Don't ever be afraid to talk to me, you know me and I want you to be honest." his face softened, "and I actually planned to come here to tell you the same thing."

"Really?" she gasped before she could stop herself. A wave of relief rushing through her entire body.

"All I could think about the entire time I was gone was the fact that I should have kissed you before I left," he moved closer, his arm brushing hers as he leaned it, "so I'm going to do it now."

She sucked a breath as he cupped her cheek and brushed his lips gently against hers. Heat flooded her face and her heart raced as Natsu pulled back and looked into her eyes once more. She blinked and realized her eyes were welling with tears, "Are you okay, Juves?" he asked still cradling her cheek.

"I'm just so happy," she smiled.

"Good," he used his thumb to wipe away her tears. " I was a little worried with how I left you the last time we saw each other, I am glad it all worked out."

She covered his hand with her own, relishing in the warmth of his skin on hers, "Thank you for being there for me, I'll never be able to fully explain how much that meant to me."

"I like seeing you happy," he pulled her hand into his and kissed it, "you deserve it."

The sinking reality of the moment came creeping in, although she and Natsu were happy she began to wonder how his team would handle seeing them together. A frown formed and her brow furrowed.

"What are you thinking about?"

She sighed, 'Your team."

He squeezed her hand, "That's a problem for another day, can't we just be happy now?"

"I suppose," she considered the situation, "but perhaps it's best to take things slowly for everyone's sake."

"Slow is good," he smiled warmly laying back on the blanket, "now let's just be here, together."

She laid back on his shoulder, fingers still entwined, and admired the night sky. It was truly beautiful and made more special by having someone there with her. Minutes slipped away and before either of them knew it hours had passed. They had talked away the evening and yawns now punctuated their sentences.

"You're tired," he pointed out, "you should get home to get some sleep."

"You too," she laughed, "you're yawning more than me."

"Let me walk you home," he said getting to his feet and offering her a hand. Once she was on her feet he gathered up the blanket and placed it back in her bag and grabbed her hand, "let's go."

They walked through the empty streets together and Juvia savored them moment. She was on cloud nine and didn't want to waste a single second of her happiness. Arriving outside fairy Hills was bittersweet as she longed for the comfort of her bed but didn't want to part ways with Natsu just yet. He tugged her softly into his arms and gave her a chaste kiss. "Goodnight, Juves.'

"Goodnight," she said as he released her hand.

"I'll see you tomorrow."